The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for generating a user interface. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for generating a user interface for activating a plurality of applications.
In recent years, the quantity of operations necessary to perform in daily work is large, and most of the operations are performed using applications. Under the circumstances, a method for integrating GUIs of a plurality of applications has been proposed in the past.
Previous prior art discloses a GUI integrating method including: automatically acquiring respective operation logs of applications; performing operation log analysis for finding GUI parts that deal with data items common among the applications, from the acquired operation logs; integrating the GUI parts that deal with the common data items; and generating a new integrated GUI that enables the unification of inputs to the plurality of applications.
Meanwhile, other prior art presents a technique for visualizing the degree of association among documents, among contents, and the like has also been known, although the technique is not used to integrate GUIs of a plurality of applications.
Other prior art discloses a technique for displaying access symbols in the following manner. That is, a plurality of concentric circles are set so as to be centered at a particular access symbol selected from a plurality of access symbols (access symbols of information including documents, figures, and images) associated in advance. On the basis of the degree of association with information of the particular access symbol, other grouped access symbols are each located on a circle closer to the center of the concentric circles, as the degree of association thereof is higher. Access symbols on the same circle are located so as to be closer to each other on the same circle, as the degree of association of information therebetween is higher.
Other prior art discloses a technique including: classifying and calculating, for each content, a plurality of content operation histories from event information of an application or an OS generated at the time of a content operation by a user; integrating content operation histories of contents whose operation types are different from each other; calculating a uniform degree of operation for all the contents; dynamically calculating the degree of association among the contents from the similarity in quantity of operation among the contents using the calculated degree of operation and the similarity in access time among the contents; and visualizing the degree of association among the contents.
As described above, a technique for integrating GUIs of a plurality of applications and a technique for visualizing the degree of association among documents, among contents, and the like have already existed.
Unfortunately, up to now, a technique for generating a user interface for activating a plurality of applications on the basis of the degree of association among the applications has not explicitly existed, and a technique for designating the degree of association in which period is used at the time of generating such a user interface has not existed.